


call it like it is

by starsessions



Category: Smosh
Genre: Five Times Plus One, M/M, basically the whole squad/games fam is in this, drunk!courtney at one part, uhh there's an uncomfy kiss scene ngl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-07-17 06:05:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16089599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsessions/pseuds/starsessions
Summary: “I’ve missed hanging out with you.” Damien admits as he unwraps his straw.and without missing a beat, Shayne says, “I’ve missed hanging out with you, too.”-or aka the five times Shayne attempted to tell Damien how he feels and the one time he finally did.





	call it like it is

**Author's Note:**

> this is my second smosh fic (since like 2013) and uhhh my other one was like 800 words? anyways! I hope you guys enjoy, I've been working on this for awhile. also, this is the longest one shot I've ever written.

  


Shayne’s laying on his couch, with tears streaming down his face. His suitcase lays on his coffee table, clothes and toiletries haphazardly packed into it. It’d been an hour since he’d broken up with his girlfriend.

 

He doesn’t know how he feels about it, honestly, the tears are mostly from the drama of it all. It was hard to tell who’s fault it really was. His head is swimming and he’s tired (it is four o’clock in the morning, Shayne has to remind himself) but he knows falling asleep would be impossible right now. He picks up his phone from the coffee table and calls the only person he knows will answer right now.

 

It rings three times, and then Damien picks up.

 

“Hello?”

 

Damien’s voice is groggy, and Shayne feels bad for calling so late. He then remembers all the times Damien had assured him that he’d be there for him _anytime._ Shayne takes a deep breath.

  


“Sorry, I know it’s late, but I just needed someone to talk to -“

 

“Are you crying?” Damien asks. His tone isn’t condescending or rude, he sounds concerned.

 

Shayne can’t hold back now. He lets out a small sob and begins to explain the course of the night to Damien. Damien coaches him through it and tells him it’s all gonna be alright. They eventually decide to FaceTime since Damien doesn’t really like talking on the phone. Shayne helps Damien pick out what shorts and pajamas to bring to summer games - something so mundane, but it helps bring him mind off things.

 

“- I went on a date with this girl a few weeks back.” Damien adds nonchalantly as he’s folding a pair of shorts.

 

“Oh? What about her?”

 

Damien sighs, “I thought it was gonna work out, man, and then she just started ripping me a new one when I told her what I did for a living. She was _not_ happy. She also talked about herself the whole time…”

 

Shayne smiles a bit, thinking of all the girls Damien has passed on because they simply talked about themselves too much or were rude to the wait staff.

 

“...which like, I get it, dating takes a while, but I wish I could just find someone, y'know?”

 

Shayne laughs for the first time that night at the thought of Damien fretting about not being able to find someone. Damien, the boy who could get anyone if he tried. “Of course you’ll find someone.”

 

Damien laughs too. “-you’ll find someone too, bud.”

 

Shayne sighs, his heart still hurting from his argument earlier. It was gonna take awhile to feel okay again, but he knows is friends would help him through it.

 

“What was the fight even about, if you don’t mind me asking?”

 

Shayne makes a small noise at the thought of coming out to his best friend. His best friend who he tells everything to. He swallows and tries to get the words out, but he can’t.

 

“If you don’t want to-“

 

“So uh, we just kinda realized we aren’t as close as we used to be. She also said that uh- I-“

 

Damien nods slowly, his eyebrows wrinkling a bit. He starts to fumble with his hair.

 

“-I’ve kinda come to terms with the fact that I’m bisexual, and well, she was happy for me, but we’ve grown apart-“

 

Damien starts to smile. “Really, dude? That’s great!”

 

Shayne gives Damien a shaky smile. “Thanks, i was gonna tell you sooner or later but-“

 

“No need. You come out when you’re ready, bud.”

 

It’s the tooth bearing smile and the crinkle of Damien’s eyes and the way that shade of blue looks on him when Shayne realizes he’s fucked. He truly is fucked.

 

—

In the morning, after Shayne had a cat nap for thirty minutes and a cold shower, they meet up at the studio to head out for Smosh Summer Games.

 

After Shayne had told him to, Damien told the smosh crew that Shayne had just gone through a break-up the night before and so if he wasn’t himself, that was why.

 

The rest of the squad showers him with hugs and Ian gives him a few pats on the shoulder. The smosh games fam all give him understanding looks and try to stay out of his way. He thinks he’s out of the woods when Damien shows up and gives him a huge bear hug.

 

Shayne has always appreciated Damien’s bear hugs. Today they’re hard to appreciate due to the fact that he doesn’t want to let go and his heart is beating quickly.

 

—

  


The bar is loud, but somehow the smosh family is able to sing happy birthday to Boze over the loud music and even louder patrons. Boze spends the whole song with her middle finger extended at Matt Raub.

 

The whole bar eventually is up and around, either dancing or finding people to talk to, while Shayne leans against the back wall. It’s not that he’s being anti-social, it’s just well…

 

He looks across the bar to see Damien resting and arm on the bar and talking to a pretty girl. She gleams up at him, laughing at one of his jokes.

 

He would be happy for his friend, but tonight was the night he was finally going to get Damien alone to tell him how he felt. They hadn’t really hung out lately, albeit the videos they shot together, and Shayne felt like he was going to explode from how much he wanted to be alone with Damien for more than five minutes.

 

Damien must’ve noticed Shayne staring, because he’d waved goodbye to the girl and was headed this way. Shayne could hear his heart beating in his ears. Damien gives him a wide smile.

 

“Guess who just got a girl’s number?”

 

His stomach drops. Shayne gives Damien a shaky smile, and they talk about mundane things and work events coming up when Damien walks away to talk to that girl again. Shayne’s grip on the empty glass he’s holding gets tighter. He puts the glass flat on the table, and goes to the bathroom. He’s washing his hands when Ian walks in, surprisingly sober.

 

“Just the man I was looking for,” Ian says as he gives him a pat on the back.

 

Shayne turns to face him, and Ian immediately reads the troubled look on his face.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

Shayne’s first instinct is to put on a brave face and just tell him that everything is _just fine,_ and that he’s never been better, but he knows Ian wouldn’t believe that. They’ve known and worked with each other for three years now, and Ian just has a weird thing when it comes to reading people.

 

So, Shayne tells him everything. It takes a few minutes but Ian listens intently and gives him sympathetic looks every now and again. When he’s done telling him, Ian just sighs.

 

“I mean, you gotta tell him at some point. If you don’t, it’s going to eat you alive. Damien’s a stand up guy and he’s your best friend - even if he doesn’t reciprocate I don’t think he’d hate you or anything.”

 

Shayne thanks him and shakes himself off. He goes to leave the bathroom, and he stops in the middle of the hallway back to the main room of the bar, only to see Damien sitting in the main doorway with that same girl so close to him. It makes his ears burn red and makes his heart beat fast. Damien makes eye contact with him but Shayne walks away so he doesn’t have to stomach the image anymore.

 

He’s halfway out the bar and putting his coat on when he hears someone calling him name. Shayne doesn’t bother turning around, he doesn’t want to see anyone right now. He just wants to go home to his apartment all by himself and sit in the dark and play video games and listen to music. That was his therapy, that was how he got over things.

 

He hurries out the door and starts walking to his car when he hears the voice again.

 

“Sssshayne!”

 

This time, Shayne rolls his eyes and turns around. When he sees that it’s Courtney, he softens a bit.

 

“Courtney, what-“

 

She catches up to him and grabs on to his arm and nearly falls onto him. Shayne manages to catch her, and she gives him a smile that confirms Shayne’s suspicion that she’s drunk.

 

“Do you need a ride home?”

 

Courtney hums a bit and leans against him again. Shayne tries to pull her upright, but she’s gone limp and is using Shayne’s arm to hold herself up.

 

“Okay, let’s get you-“

 

Before he can finish the sentence however, he’s cut off by Courtney kissing him. It’s gross, not because it’s Courtney necessarily, but because she’s sweaty and she tastes like pure rum. Shayne gently tries to get her off, but she’s latched on to him like a leech.

 

“Shayne? Courtney?” He hears from behind him.

 

_Oh shit._

 

He can’t tell if the voice is Damien’s or not, because it’s laced so heavily with surprise. All he knows is that he really hopes it’s not a Defy executive.

 

-

 

“Alright, you’re gonna crash on my couch tonight, okay?”

 

Courtney grunts in response as Shayne helps her to the makeshift bed he’s made on the couch for her. She lays down and Shayne throws a blanket over her. He leaves a glass of water and a note that says:

 

“You were trashed, and I couldn’t find your keys and I didn’t want to leave you alone in your apartment. If you wake up before me come wake me up and I’ll drive you home.

 

-Shayne”

 

He goes and cleans himself up and goes to bed, but once he’s in bed his heart and mind are both racing. He goes to grab his phone from his nightstand when he sees he has a text. From Damien. Of course.

 

**I didn’t know you and Courtney were a thing?! Congrats I guess!**

 

Shayne groans. Of course it was Damien who saw them. He’d been on his way out as well, but his mind had just hoped that it’d been a crew member or some bar patron who had no idea who they were.

 

_We aren’t, lol. She was drunk and made out with me._

 

Shayne plops his phone down back on the nightstand and rolls back over.

 

-

 

When Courtney wakes up that next morning, she reads the note. The night comes crashing back to her. Her head is swirling, and she feels like if she even slightly moves a muscle, that’ll send her right to the toilet bowl immediately.

 

Shayne is awake and moving around in the kitchen. He grabs a bottle of aspirin and a fresh glass of water and hands it to Courtney.

 

“Thanks,” she groans, rubbing her head.

 

“No problem,” Shayne nods. “Not that I’m shaming you or anything - but you drank a shit ton last night.”

 

Shayne feels bad after saying that, and he chuckles a bit too. Courtney gives a small laugh, but she winces in pain as she does so.

 

“Did I do anything weird?”

 

Shayne swallows. He doesn’t want to embarrass his friend - but he knows it’d be weird to keep a secret this big from her.

 

“You kinda, made out with me…”

 

Courtney visibly cringes and Shayne gives a laugh to try to break the tension. “It’s okay, I think the only person who saw was Damien…”

-

 

“So you like him?”

 

They were sitting at a coffee shop right around the corner from Shayne’s apartment. He’d just told Courtney about his longtime crush on his best friend.

 

Shayne nodded.

 

Courtney gave that little “tee-hee” laugh she does when she finds something cute. Shayne rolls his eyes, but he can feel his cheeks heating up.

 

“When are you gonna tell him?”

  


The Defy offices had been transformed over night. Girls walked around in cocktail dresses and nice heels, while guys were dressed in nice vests and suit pants or in business casual. The lights were down somewhat low, and acoustic music played softly from the intercom speakers.

 

Shayne was, of course, making small talk with guests while most of his coworkers did the same. When he looked out, he could see his friends talking with other creators from youtube, but he didn’t see Damien anywhere. It concerned him a bit because he knew how some social situations (especially situations like these) made Damien uneasy.

 

So, Shayne excused himself from the conversation and went on a mission to find Damien. He’d checked about three different rooms when he opened the Smosh Games office and found him sitting in there. Damien was sitting at his desks, with the heels of his hands pressed into his eyes.

 

“...Damien, you good buddy?”

 

Damien looked at him, his eyes slightly irritated, and Shayne can tell that he’s having a not so good day today. Shayne immediately puts a hand on his shoulder and begins to comfort him.

 

Damien coughs and tells Shayne that he’s _fine_ ; and that Shayne should just go back to the party. Shayne refuses, because he can truly tell by the look and Damien’s eyes that when Shayne leaves he’s just going to fall apart all over again.

 

“...you can go, Shayne, I’m fine.”

 

Shayne still stays. He watches as Damien’s eyebrows furrow.

 

“...Kara broke up with me.”

 

Kara was the girl Damien met at the bar that one night, and they’d been dating for a steady three months. She’d made Damien’s cats’ sweaters and kept his apartment clean - she was the definition of perfect in Damien’s eyes.

 

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Dames…”

 

Shayne watches as Damien’s eyes begin to water and he lets out a giant sigh. Shayne’s heart clenches at the sight of seeing his best friend upset.

 

“You know I’m always gonna be here for you, right?” Shayne asks as he rubs Damien’s back.

 

“I know - I just… I didn’t wanna ruin your night.”

 

Shayne laughs a bit. “Damien, I care about you and your mental being more than I could ever care about business parties. Why do you think I came and looked for you?”

 

Damien lowers his head and gives a small smile. Shayne meets Damien’s eyes and Damien gives him a half lidded look - and before either of them know it, are leaning in towards each other.

 

Shayne’s lips meet Damien’s and for a second he swears he feels fireworks going off in his stomach. Damien grabs onto his arm and pulls him in closer, and Shayne somehow tries to get even closer to him. They finally pull away for air a few seconds later.

 

Damien’s eyes are wide when Shayne finally looks at him again and he darts up and out of his chair and out into the party, when he sees Olivia standing in the doorway, her mouth slightly open and her eyebrows knitted together.

 

“What did I just witness?” She asks.

 

Shayne shrugs his shoulders and his face and ears burn red.

 

-

 

Shayne thinks he _finally_ has somewhat of a plan to tell Damien how he feels a few months later after things between them settle down a bit. They never talk about the kiss, but for a few weeks after it happened there was awkward silence and vacant stares at each other.

 

But, neither of them are in relationships or really trying to date anyone right now, so Shayne decides that now is probably the best time to tell Damien how he feels so he can get over it and move on with his life.

 

Shayne decides to ask Damien to brunch to tell him, because even if Damien tells him that he doesn’t feel the same way, he’ll at least get to drown his feelings with mimosas. When they get to the brunch place they both order crepes and Shayne gets a mimosa while Damien sticks with orange juice.

 

“I’ve missed hanging out with you.” Damien admits as he unwraps his straw.

 

and without missing a beat, Shayne says, “I’ve missed hanging out with you, too.”

 

The food comes and they both dig into their crepes and Shayne is so distracted by the food that he almost forgets why he asked Damien to come here anyway.

 

Shayne’s chewing his last few bites of food and thinking about what he’s going to say when Damien phone starts ringing. Damien acts like he’s not going to answer it, but when he sees who it’s from, he immediately answers it.

 

Damien gives a shaky but nervous “hello,” and a “yes, this is Damien,” and Shayne’s nervous for a second. Then, he sees Damien’s eyes light up.

 

“I got the job?!”

 

Shayne smiles and he feels his heart swell for Damien, because he’s just so proud of his best friend. Damien talks on the phone a little longer, and then he hangs up and smiles at Shayne.

 

“I got the Cartoon Network voice gig!”

 

Shayne high fives him and they talk over the

details of it for awhile until Damien finally asks: “what were you going to tell me?”

 

Shayne takes a drink of his water and a deep breath before thinking about how he was going to phrase it. How do you just casually tell someone over brunch that you’re in love with them?

 

“Well, uh- I just wanted to tell you-“

 

Damien is looking down at his phone.

 

“Oh, hold that thought, dude! I gotta be at the CN studios in twenty...I’m so sorry!”

 

He gets up and out of his seat and throws down a few crumpled bills from his wallet and before Shayne knows it, he’s alone. again.

 

-

**5.**

 

The noises from the Lazer-Tag arena were deafening. Loud, dubstep music played from the whiny speakers, but somehow, Shayne thought the grandiose idea of telling Damien how he felt over laser tag was a great idea.  Courtney had told him it wasn’t that good of an idea, and that he just needed to tell him spur of the moment.

 

So after two failed attempts to get Damien slightly alone, Shayne decides to take Courtney’s advice. He just doesn’t know when he’s going to tell him.

 

-

Two months pass, and Shayne still hasn’t told Damien. He isn’t broken up about it, though, because in these past few months, the two of them have gotten even closer than they used to be, and have even accidentally flirted a few times here or there.

 

Then, Shayne finds out that they might have an opportunity to go to Japan together. He almost cries of happiness, and in that moment he’s thanking every deity out there at this moment. Going to Japan together could mean sharing a room.

 

For another month or so, Shayne has butterflies in his stomach at the thought of spending all that time in Japan with Damien. He also can’t stop thinking of all the time he’ll have to possibly tell Damien how he feels.

 

When the time rolls around, they’re boarding a plane, and they sit just a little too close on the plane and Shayne’s heart goes wild. A few times, Damien’s fingers ghost over his on the arm rest, but Shayne says nothing.

 

-

 

They land, and meet up with Pam and Ian in the terminal. They all go into a photo booth and take cute pictures together, and they add the cute “kawaii” filters to them. Damien stands extra close to him and Shayne’s palms get sweaty.

 

-

 

“This is the best. You’re the best.”

 

They’re sprawled out on Damien’s bed in their hotel room. Shayne had ordered food for them from room service and he’d brought his Switch and hooked it up to the TV.

 

“Thanks, I guess. It’s no biggie.”

 

Damien makes a small happy noise and scoots over closer to him. Shayne feels like he’s going to puke. He feels like he’s on a rollercoaster - his stomach lurching up and down and up and -

 

suddenly, Damien’s kissing him. His eyes open in surprise but he closes them after realizing what exactly is happening. Then Damien’s on top of him.

 

-

 

Shayne wakes up, and he thinks for a second that it’s all a dream. It wouldn’t be the first time something like this has happened - but then tries to sit up in bed and he can feel the weight of someone else’s arm on his chest. Shayne grabs his phone from the night stand, only to see that’s it four in the morning. He scrolls through his messages until he finds his conversation with Boze and just types **_“AHHHH.”_ **

 

He’s expecting some sort of **_“go back to sleep, asshole!”_ ** or no response at all, but then the response bubble shows up.

 

**_“Isn’t it like, 4 am there?”_ **  Boze responds.

 

Then, his FaceTime thing pops up and Shayne panics. He manages to get Damien’s arm off of him and he runs to the bathroom. He clicks accept.

 

“SHAYNE. what’s up, bud?!” Boze says a little too loudly.

 

Shayne shushes her and tells her Damien is still asleep. She rolls her eyes at him.

 

“You’re the one who texted me at four am, Jesus.”

 

Shayne softens. “I’m sorry. I’m just - on edge.”

 

Boze laughs, but when she sees the worried expression on her face, she whispers, “seriously, what’s wrong?”

 

Shayne wants to say that he’s happy, that what happened last night was something he’s wanted forever - but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t fucking terrified. He was terrified of Damien laughing it off or calling it nothing. More than that, he was terrified of awkward tension between them like when they kissed at the party. Most of all - Shayne was scared of losing his favorite person in the world.

 

Boze can see the pained look in his eyes through the phone, and she hangs up on him and texts him, **_“would typing it out be easier?”_ **

 

He tells her the details of last night - and he doesn’t get a response at first. He panics. Does she know Damien doesn’t reciprocate? Does she know something -

 

**_“Just call it like it is, Shayne.”_ **

 

**_-_ **

 

It’s been six hours since they’ve stepped out of their hotel room, and almost twelve hours since they’ve spoken. The day has been filled with fun, touristy type things - but Shayne feels like he’s been floating everywhere he’s been today. He doesn’t feel his sneakers hitting the concrete. He doesn’t feel the wind blow his hair in different directions.

 

Ian and Pam as well as Mari and Peter are all ahead of them, and they’re all laughing at some joke Ian just told. Shayne would laugh too, but he can’t. He’s too focused on Damien, who hasn’t said a word to him all day and who’s just been bumping shoulders with him every now and again.

 

Mari and Peter suggest that they go get lunch at a rooftop garden. No one else disagrees, because it’s been a long day of walking and everyone is hungry. They all get somewhat separate tables at the restaurant, and Shayne and Damien just look out across the garden below them.

 

They both order and so do the other four, and Ian and Pam suggest they all go look at the gardens below while they wait for their food. Mari and Peter decide to go along, but Shayne says he’ll wait and go after he eats. Damien stays silent and just stays with him.

 

There are a few painfully awkward moments of silence, before Shayne finally utters out:

 

“Was I just -“

 

Damien startles at the sound of Shayne’s voice, and looks up at him and locks eyes with him. He’s got a somewhat scared look in his eyes.

 

“Damien, I’m -“

 

And then, almost simultaneously, Damien starts to tear up, his eyes glistening with a sheen of tears. Shayne reaches over the table to try to comfort his friend, but Damien moves his hand away.

 

“God, I fucked up, Shayne.”

 

Shayne quirks an eyebrow at this. “What do you-?”

 

“I was way too forward last night and I probably fucked up our friendship and I’m sorry. If you don’t wanna be my friend or if you want to get your own hotel room I understand. I crossed a line -“ Damien drops his head and doesn't make eye contact. 

Shayne sighs. “I wanted to.”

 

Damien releases the tension in his shoulders. “You don’t have to lie for me, Shayne. I can handle it. I just - god - I’ve - it wasn’t like you were an experiment or anything. I just - I can’t put a label on what I feel for you just yet -“

 

“Well, I can.” Shayne meets Damien’s eyes, which are still red but are clear of any tears now. “I’m in love with you, and I think I have been for a long time.”

 

Damien gives a gentle smile and whispers, “why didn’t you tell-?”

 

“I’ve been trying to tell you for. Six. Months.”

 

Damien laughs out loud at that, before leaning over the table and leaning into Shayne. Out of the now three kisses they’ve shared, this one feels right.

 

This time, instead of a shocked Olivia, they hear the giddy, happy noises of Pam and Mari while Peter and Ian stand there shocked. Oh shit, Shayne had forgotten they were in public. Thankfully no one was around except for the six of them.

 

“So, what’d we miss?” Mari jokes.

 

-

 

Everything goes back to normal when they get home, except it doesn’t. They start dating, but only a few select people know. Mari, Ian, Boze, Courtney and Olivia are the only ones who know that they’re dating right now.

 

They spend a lot more time together, and most weekends are spent at each other’s apartments. They usually sleep in Saturday mornings and then one of them will get up to make them breakfast. Cuddling and video games with the small exception of a date night every now and again take up most of their time nowadays.

 

“You’ve been a new kind of happy ever since you came back from Japan,” Courtney says while they’re filming one day.

 

_I guess I am,_ Shayne thinks as he lays in bed that night, curled into Damien’s side. _I guess I am._


End file.
